See how the McKesson AcuDose-Rx medication dispensing cabinet can help hospitals improve patient safety and reduce inventory costs,

1. Case Study
Bloomington Hospital
Medication dispensing cabinets play key role
in putting Bloomington at leading edge of
patient safety
Overview Challenges
At a Glance As a leading hospital in Indiana, Prior to installing AcuDose-Rx medication
Bloomington Hospital enhances health dispensing cabinets, Bloomington faced
Bloomington Hospital by advancing the art and science of several challenges specific to medication
Bloomington, IN medicine through the use of new distribution on the nursing units:
technologies, procedures and care.
Bloomington Hospital has been innovative
• Medication distribution and
in providing quality health care to south
Prior to having any automation administration was subject to human
central Indiana communities for more than
a century. Bloomington Hospital is a not- technology, Bloomington developed error without an automated system
for-profit organization and has a patient a comprehensive medication safety • Turnaround times between order
base of 413,000 in 10 counties. strategy to dramatically improve the written and medication received were
safety of the medication process from perceived as too long by our nursing
Solution Spotlight the distribution center to the customers
– AcuDose-Rx® bedside. The strategy was comprised • There was no real-time automated
of four key elements—patient safety, tracking of medication usage,
Other Automation Solutions nursing workflow, pharmacy productivity overrides and controlled substance
and physician medication use. And when discrepancies
– NarcStation™
the focus was on a combination of • There were space issues for
– Horizon Meds Manager™
pharmacy productivity, nursing workflow medication storage
– MedCarousel® and patient safety, that’s where • Relationship between pharmacy and
AcuDose-Rx medication dispensing nursing was strained
Results cabinets fit seamlessly into the strategy.
– Dispense over one million doses a year Melby explained that everything at that
– Medication selection errors reduced from “Our overarching goal for this project time was manual, from the pharmacy
3700/year to 600/year with AcuDose-Rx was to use technology to ensure that our technician picking the patient specific
– Missing doses reduced from 150/day to processes were putting us at the leading and floor stock medications, to the nurse
to less than 25/day with AcuDose-Rx edge of patient safety in the medication dispensing and administering them. The
– After implementing automation, use process,” explained Michael Melby, nurses picked medications from patient
turnaround time from order receipt to director of pharmacy at Bloomington specific, 24-hour supply drawers, and
medication availability was reduced from Hospital. “And when we chose to the safety control was a visual check.
90 minutes to seven minutes implement McKesson Automation The nurses would reconcile controlled
– Improved nursing satisfaction solutions, we had the highest level of substances at the end of each shift.
– Stronger pharmacy-nursing relationship patient care and safety in mind. All of
the solutions we currently use, especially “With a manual process, there’s always a
our AcuDose-Rx medication dispensing potential for human error, and that was
cabinets, provide us that.” a huge concern.” added Melby. “Our
Automation Solutions

2. Bloomington Hospital
nurses would also spend a significant added safety check and assurance that
time tracking down missing or misplaced they are dispensing the right medication
medications which meant more calls for the right patient. Bloomington
to pharmacy and less time spent with Hospital dispenses over 1 million doses of
patients.” medication per year. According to Melby,
“The nurses know they can count on medication selection errors decreased
AcuDose-Rx. The system is very reliable, Answers from 3700 per year prior to AcuDose-Rx
easy to use, and the nurses know that to 600 per year after AcuDose-Rx.
As part of the medication safety
they always have the medications they
strategy, Bloomington implemented The system automatically tracks
need, when they need them.” 65 AcuDose-Rx cabinets in 26 nursing medication use, patient charges,
units. AcuDose-Rx has made a significant inventory levels, overrides and controlled
impact on the hospital by streamlining substance discrepancies. Bloomington
Michael Melby, MS, FASHP pharmacy and nursing workflow, has realized a significant reduction in
Director of Pharmacy improving patient safety, increasing missing medications and stock outs.
charge capture and improving the Missing doses went from 150 per day
Bloomington Hospital
relationship between pharmacy and prior to AcuDose-Rx to less than 25 after
nursing. AcuDose-Rx. Inventory stock outs per
week were reduced by 50 percent.
“Since we’ve implemented AcuDose-Rx,
we have a stronger relationship with our Additionally, the capacity of the cabinet
nursing colleagues,” explained Melby. is a big benefit for Bloomington. With
“Now we have a shared workflow. It’s AcuDose-Rx cabinets, the pharmacy is
no longer us versus them. We work able to provide 96 percent of the first
together as a team.” dose and maintenance medications
needed by nursing with an average 7
The nurses at Bloomington, along with minute turnaround time from order
the pharmacy, have been extremely receipt to medication availability.
satisfied with the AcuDose-Rx cabinets. This compares to an average of 90
He added, “The nurses know they minutes prior to automation. Previously
can count on AcuDose-Rx. The system nursing saw the pharmacy as a barrier
is very reliable, easy to use, and the to getting the patient’s needed
nurses know that they always have the medication. Now the pharmacy is seen
medications they need, when they need as a facilitator.
them.”
“AcuDose-Rx has been a great addition
For the nurses, the workflow is simple. to our hospital. We have improved
They log in and the cabinet points them patient safety and are reaching our
to the correct medication for a specific medication dispensing goals,” concluded
patient. This also gives the nurse the Melby.
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